Sunday, December 8, 2013

5 Inexpensive Ideas to Promote Your First Product

When launching your first product to market without brand recognition, trust or loyalty it’s essential that you run a vigorous and active promotional internet campaign. When first starting off though it’s likely that cash is going to be very tight, so you’ll need to find innovative, fresh and low-cost ideas to ensure your product gains maximum exposure during its crucial early stages. Here are 5 ways you can do just that.

1. Be seen as the go-to expert.When consumers buy a product or service, one of the first things they’ll consider before committing to purchase is whether or not they can trust the seller. Getting yourself recognized as an authoritative figure in your niche is what will help endear people to your product. Getting said recognition won’t be easy, but it’s not impossible either.

The most manageable way to achieve this is to start a blog and by filling it with content which is relevant to your potential customer’s needs. By being seen as a “giver” by providing lots of free, quality, informative or entertaining content you’ll be adding value which will increase traffic flow and gain consumer trust.

2. Video, video, video.

It’s 2013. If your company isn't using video to promote its products then your company is defunct.

It is estimated that 60% of all content consumed on the internet globally is now video. There is a huge demand for video content today and that demand will only continue to rise. Creating video doesn't have to be expensive either, so for a new company promoting its first product this is not an issue. Quality videos can be shot and uploaded onto YouTube using just an iPhone in a few minutes. You don’t need fancy editing skills, voice-overs or special graphics, just clear, engaging images which best present the benefits of your product.

3. Get addicted to Facebook.

Oh, how our grandfathers would have loved to have had a tool like Facebook to promote their first products! Facebook is an incredible platform for promoting business but just having a simple fan page isn’t nearly enough.

Facebook Ad’s are an extremely cost effective way of driving not only traffic to your product, but quality, targeted traffic. With Facebook Ads, even by spending as little as a few dollars a day, you can put your ads in front of people who have the exact interests relevant to your product, therefore guaranteeing traffic quality.

Another excellent tactic to exploit on Facebook is the use of ‘Reveal’ or ‘Gateway’ Tabs. Ask users for a “Like” on your page in exchange for a promotional offer or access to unique content. This will a) Get more likes for your page and b) Get people talking about your product. (This tactic could also be used on Twitter by giving something in exchange for a tweet or retweet etc.)

4. Be an educator.

Problems, not solutions, are the largest motivator for people. We’re all driven in life by pain or, more specifically, the need to avoid it. Using Market Data can build a serious case for any product before you even try to sell it. So, if you’re a Health Food Store for example, instead of putting out endless information about your delicious new Wheatgrass and Goji Berry Salad, tell them instead of how it’s now estimated that 99% of the American people are deficient in essential nutrients and minerals which inevitably leads to disease. Which do you envisage people will be more interested in? Your “Wheatgrass Salad” blog, or the “We’re all going to die if we don’t improve our diets” one? Exactly.

Market Data is way more inspiring and motivating than any product data out there, and people will come to you much faster and stay longer if they can learn something of value to them, than they ever will to be sold to.5. Don’t fear cold emailing.

Just because email marketing is almost ubiquitous now, it doesn’t mean you should stay away from it. When promoting a first product, a structured direct email marketing campaign can prove very fruitful in a timely and cost effective manner. There are plenty of online tools to help you track results and manage your mail campaigns, such as MailChimp, but don’t forget it’s vital that your mail adds value in some way by either giving away a special offer or discount or by simply giving the recipient something they’ll want to read. Personalizing each mail goes a long way in increasing open rates and replies, also.

So these are 5 inexpensive ideas to promote your first product which you cannot afford to shy away from. We should all be grateful for the myriad of tools we have at our fingertips to aid us when it comes to selling products these days, but without using them properly, in the ways mentioned above, your business will be left in the dark.